Movies Like Born to Be Blue (2015)

Born to Be Blue is a 2015 drama, music film from Robert Budreau with a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Glenn Miller Story and Miles Ahead.

Drama Music

The Glenn Miller Story

1954

A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.

6.9

MagicScore

Miles Ahead

2016

An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.

6.4

MagicScore

Let's Get Lost

1988

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

7.0

MagicScore

Ray

2004

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.

7.4

MagicScore

'Round Midnight

1986

Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.

7.1

MagicScore

Bird

1988

Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.

6.8

MagicScore

Low Down

2014

The daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany witnesses her beloved father's struggle -- and failure -- to kick his heroin habit.

5.5

MagicScore

Nina

2016

The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.

5.1

MagicScore

Spinning Gold

2023

A biopic of 1970s record producer Neil Bogart, co-founder of Casablanca Records.

5.1

MagicScore

#10

Mahler

1974

Famed composer Gustav Mahler reflects on the tragedies of his life and failing marriage while traveling by train.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

The Music Lovers

1971

Composer, conductor and teacher Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky struggles against his homosexual tendencies by marrying, but unfortunately, he chooses wacky nymphomaniac Nina, whom he is unable to satisfy.

6.5

MagicScore

#12

Sweet Dreams

1985

The story of Patsy Cline, the velvet-voiced country music singer who died in a tragic plane crash at the height of her fame.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

Isadora

1968

A biography of the dancer Isadora Duncan, the 1920s dancer who forever changed people's ideas of ballet. Her nude, semi-nude, and pro-Soviet dance projects as well as her attitudes on free love, debt, dress, and lifestyle shocked the public of her time.

6.1

MagicScore

#14

Amy

2015

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

7.6

MagicScore

#15

Chasing Trane

2017

An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose original, avant-garde work has impacted and influenced people all over the world. A story about music's ability to entertain, inspire and transform.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2019

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

7.2

MagicScore

#17

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

2010

A glimpse at the life of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris through his successful song-writing years in the 1960s to his death in 1991 at the age of 62.

6.9

MagicScore

#18

The Miracle Worker

1962

The true story of the frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness of 7-year-old Helen Keller who, since infancy, has never seen the sky, heard her mother's voice or expressed her innermost feelings. Then Annie Sullivan, a 20-year-old teacher from Boston, arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Annie reaches out to Helen through the power of touch, the only tool they have in common, and leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light.

7.9

MagicScore

#19

Malcolm X

1992

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.

7.5

MagicScore

#20

Patton

1970

"Patton" tells the tale of General George S. Patton, famous tank commander of World War II. The film begins with Patton's career in North Africa and progresses through the invasion of Germany and the fall of the Third Reich. Side plots also speak of Patton's numerous faults such his temper and habit towards insubordination.

7.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Born to Be Blue?

The top films similar to Born to Be Blue by MovieMagicScore are The Glenn Miller Story (6.9), Miles Ahead (6.4), Let's Get Lost (7.0). Each shares drama/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Born to Be Blue worth watching?

Born to Be Blue holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10 from 218 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Born to Be Blue?

Born to Be Blue (2015) is a drama, music film directed by Robert Budreau, starring Ethan Hawke, Carmen Ejogo, Callum Keith Rennie.

Where can I find more recommendations like Born to Be Blue?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Glenn Miller Story Movies like Miles Ahead Movies like Let's Get Lost Movies like Ray Movies like 'Round Midnight Movies like Bird

About movies like Born to Be Blue

This ranked list pairs Born to Be Blue (2015), a drama and music film from Robert Budreau, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Ethan Hawke take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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